Martin Docherty: It is good to follow the hon. Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti). I congratulate him on the moral choice of resigning from the Government, although I remind him that when it comes the law of the country, there is the law of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
As a Scottish nationalist, I have often tried to stick to our maxim of leaving Ireland to the Irish, but in these constitutionally fraught times I feel it is necessary to remind the British Conservative and Unionist party of the histories and stories across these islands that give us an understanding of where we find ourselves today. We can be in no doubt that this Government will seek to portray this perfidious power grab as actually strengthening the devolution settlement, which so many of us have fought so hard to secure, but we know very well from the history of Northern Ireland that rewriting devolution by decree is simply unsustainable.
Let us move beyond the bluff and bluster of this Government’s Front Bench and the obsequious chatter of their pliant Back Benchers, and remind ourselves  very clearly that a Union requires Unionists at both ends. Usually, when I look over to my Scottish Conservative and Unionist opposites—I do not see any here tonight—I see fellow Scots who are equally passionate in their convictions for our nation of Scotland as any on these Benches. Usually, when I look over to my Scottish Conservative and Unionist opposites—I do not see any here tonight—I see fellow Scots who are equally passionate in their convictions for our nation of Scotland as any on these Benches are. They are Unionists who are looking desperately to the south to see their convictions mirrored by English colleagues, but I am afraid that the only colleague they found tonight was the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May).
As we debate the Northern Ireland protocol here, we see a foreshadow of what is about to happen to my fellow Scots who have placed their faith in this Union, because while people in Northern Ireland collectively voted to remain within the European Union, they have seen not only that express wish disregarded but the very fabric of their daily lives become part of the negotiations over the past three years. Now they see the future of that quotidian offered up as a gambling chip by this Government. One party, the Democratic Unionist party, sought to follow its Unionist convictions by backing this Government, but its Members have instead seen themselves, cajoled, seduced, rebuffed and tossed aside before being asked again to come back into the warm embrace of the Conservative party.
Let us look into the forgotten past, to the Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972, in which this House decided unilaterally to pluck the powers of the people of Northern Ireland invested in their Parliament in Stormont and bring them here, where they could be “better administered”, quite against wishes of the Unionist leadership of the day. I am surprised not to have heard more about that Act, given that it would be almost entirely analogous to the situation in which we find ourselves today, were it not for the fact that direct rule was again discontinued only last year, thanks in part to the efforts of the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith). Of course, like anyone in the Conservative party with any talent or opinions of their own, he was sacked by the Government—I intimated to him and others that I intended to mention them in my speech this evening.
In the face of the deteriorating security situation in 1972, and to avoid the possibility of an unwelcome result in a Stormont election, Westminster unilaterally disbanded the Parliament that had sat since 1920, deciding instead to govern Northern Ireland through Orders in Council laid before this House of Commons. Not only was this done against the express wishes of their supposed Unionist allies—Government Members should maybe put their phones down and learn a little bit of history tonight—but the supposed temporary nature of the arrangements lasted for more than 30 years, until the Belfast agreement. That was power previously held by the peoples in these islands being taken back by a Conservative Government. So how have they managed to do it all over again?
At the start of my speech, I brought forward the idea that a Union must have Unionists at both ends, yet throughout the whole Brexit process this Government  have not stopped to think once about their own actions and how they affect this Union, least it be for the purposes of a cheap soundbite. So, as the Governments of all shades in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh beseech the one across the House from us today at least to listen to their concerns, far less treat them as equals in the family of nations, we owe it to ourselves to ask whether they understand what “Union” means at all. We in Scotland remember that it is not an Act of Union but a treaty of Union, as my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry) reminded us earlier. While that framing may not be possible in other nations, it has certainly spoken to myself and to many of those who do not share my opinions on the constitution, as it demonstrates that this is at least something of a partnership of equals.
We on these Benches will see our colleagues from the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Benches trooping through the Lobby to support this Bill because they believe it strengthens the Union, but if they were here, I would simply ask them: do you believe the Government when they say that the Union is their first priority? As we debate the Northern Ireland protocol today and think of the past three years through the eyes of Unionists here—the fine words of flattery, followed by flummery and forgetting, the lack of understanding and the taking for granted—I ask my Unionist pals: can you trust these people? I mentioned the temporary provisions Act of 1972. I could just as easily have gone back to the Government of Ireland Act 1920 to demonstrate how, when the Unionists on these islands set aside their own convictions and interests in pursuit of a mythical greater good, it rarely works out for them. As my pals seek to vote through this power grab to allow a Government far away from the people they represent to rewrite their unwritten constitution and to award themselves sweeping powers over the people of Scotland, please don’t kid yourselves: this Government have been willing to pick up and put down Unionist leaders for as long as the Union has existed. They did it to Edward Carson, they did it to Brian Faulkner, they have just done it to Arlene Foster and, let us be absolutely clear, they are about to do it to Douglas Ross—gutted, washed out and tossed aside like a haddie on the pier at Buckie.